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Does the earth have a prayer?

Love of creation has deep roots in our Catholic spiritual traditions.

One night when I was 6 years old, while walking outdoors before bed, I gazed at the sky and found myself wrapped in the vast mantle of stars, the Milky Way. Standing in awe, my body felt both small and large. In that instant I felt God.

Does the earth have a prayer?

Love of creation has deep roots in our Catholic spiritual traditions.

One night when I was 6 years old, while walking outdoors before bed, I gazed at the sky and found myself wrapped in the vast mantle of stars, the Milky Way. Standing in awe, my body felt both small and large. In that instant I felt God.

Green isn’t just for Ordinary Time

Parishes are investing in eco-friendly techniques to save money and the earth.

On a cold Saturday morning last December, Father Charles Morris showed just how far he was willing to go to raise awareness of global warming. Lake Erie was a bone-chilling 36 degrees when the Michigan priest ducked underwater for a "polar bear swim" organized by two nonprofits working to alleviate climate change.

"Anything for the cause," says Morris with a laugh.

Renée M. LaReau is the author of Getting a Life: How to Find Your True Vocation (Orbis, 2003). She writes from Columbus, Ohio.

Green isn’t just for Ordinary Time

Parishes are investing in eco-friendly techniques to save money and the earth.

On a cold Saturday morning last December, Father Charles Morris showed just how far he was willing to go to raise awareness of global warming. Lake Erie was a bone-chilling 36 degrees when the Michigan priest ducked underwater for a "polar bear swim" organized by two nonprofits working to alleviate climate change.

"Anything for the cause," says Morris with a laugh.

Renée M. LaReau is the author of Getting a Life: How to Find Your True Vocation (Orbis, 2003). She writes from Columbus, Ohio.

Political environment heating up

For voters still trying to decide between Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama, environmental issues won't likely sway them one way (click on their name to see their respective campaign sites on energy). The two democratic candidates hold very similar views and policy positions on climate change and energy. She calls on all levels of American society-government, industry, and individuals-to contribute to the effort, while he calls climate change "one of the greatest moral challenges of our generation."

Waste not, want not

Earth-friendly living starts at home.

My family's attempts to lessen our impact on the earth remind me of driving a car with a manual transmission for the first time: When you finally take your foot off the clutch, the car lurches forward with a screech, then stalls. Eventually you get the hang of that third pedal and start to enjoy the ride. We, too, have alternately leaped forward (often with a screech) and stalled as we make our way toward a more harmonious, environmentally conscious way of life.

Waste not, want not

Earth-friendly living starts at home.

My family's attempts to lessen our impact on the earth remind me of driving a car with a manual transmission for the first time: When you finally take your foot off the clutch, the car lurches forward with a screech, then stalls. Eventually you get the hang of that third pedal and start to enjoy the ride. We, too, have alternately leaped forward (often with a screech) and stalled as we make our way toward a more harmonious, environmentally conscious way of life.

City slickers get a taste of the farm

When Curt Ellis set out to learn about agriculture firsthand for his documentary King Corn (ITVS), he didn't find what he expected. "From an urban or suburban perspective," says the Portland, Oregon resident, "you imagine family farms and red barns."

City slickers get a taste of the farm

When Curt Ellis set out to learn about agriculture firsthand for his documentary King Corn (ITVS), he didn't find what he expected. "From an urban or suburban perspective," says the Portland, Oregon resident, "you imagine family farms and red barns."

Home sweet biohazard

There's no place like home, as long as parents prevent it from becoming toxic.

Thoroughly modern parents of the late 20th century might have cracked open a tin of baby formula, poured it into a plastic bottle, and warmed it in a Teflon-coated pan before rushing it to baby's toy-littered nursery. Today's with-it 'rents think twice before exposing their child to-pay attention here, this gets complicated-this following impromptu periodic table of hazardous materials: